'Oh, He's a Drunk': Elton John's Stinging Four Word Rebuke of One-Time Pal Billy Joel — And How It Created 'Bad Blood'
Elton John confronted Billy Joel about his drinking.
July 27 2025, Published 4:15 p.m. ET
Billy Joel has opened up about a difficult chapter in his long friendship with fellow music icon Elton John, revealing that their bond was tested after John publicly criticized his drinking during a 2011 interview, RadarOnline.com can report.
The revelation comes in the second installment of Billy Joel: And So It Goes, a new HBO documentary series that premiered July 25.
Elton John and Billy Joel have known each other since the 1970s.
The 76-year-old singer-songwriter discusses how John's comments about his struggles with alcohol left him feeling betrayed and hurt.
In the series, Joel recalls: "Elton had made a comment that he thought I needed real rehab. He chalked it up to, 'Oh, he's a drunk.' And that really hurt me. I said, 'Wait a minute. Don't you know me better than that?'"
Joel explained that John's remarks, made during an interview with Rolling Stone, triggered a period of "bad blood" between the two.
He said: "There was a dovetailing of things that happened during that time."
Joel recalls feeling blindsided after John suggested he needed 'real rehab'.
The artists, who began touring together in 1994 with their joint Face to Face tour, had enjoyed a celebrated partnership and friendship for decades.
Despite some early professional rivalry, Joel acknowledged in the first part of the series that they eventually built a deep personal connection.
In the controversial interview, John expressed concern about Joel's drinking, calling his previous rehab stays "light" and labeling his approach "tough love".
John told the magazine: "He's going to hate me for this. But every time he goes to rehab, they've been light… I love you, Billy, and this is tough love."
He also cited Joel's repeated tour cancellations as signs of deeper struggles and added: "So many cancelled tours because of illnesses and various other things, alcoholism."
Billy Joel says his friendship with Elton John is going through a rough patch.
Joel admitted in the documentary that the public criticism felt like hitting "rock bottom".
"It clobbered me," he explained. "I was disillusioned with what I thought it was all supposed to mean. It was like all the signs were pointing to me: Enough."
The emotional impact was so strong that Joel considered walking away from music altogether. He recounted: "And I wrote this letter to the band: 'I don't want to do this anymore. I'm gonna stop.'"
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Elton John is currently dealing with a series of health issues.
Joel had previously sought help at the Betty Ford Center in 2005, an effort he said was spurred by then-wife Katie Lee. The couple later divorced in 2009.
While he stepped back from the spotlight after treatment, Joel has since returned to performing and, as of 2023, confirmed in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that he no longer drinks.
He said: "I stopped a couple of years ago. It wasn't a big AA kick. I just got to a point where I'd had enough. I didn't enjoy being completely inebriated, and it probably created more problems in my life than I needed."
